Book Three: Fire
by scorpiaux
Summary: He is a ruthless firebender, and a traitor. They are a team desperate for knowledge of Fire Nation grounds, and all the help they can get. But all he wants to do is take his father's place. Will it be too late? Pairings inside.
1. Chapter 1

Book Three: Fire 

**Author's Note:** Howdy! There's double trouble in this story. It's being done not only by Scorpiored112, but also by sam81609. We both had an idea to do a Book Three: Fire, so we figured, why not do it together? So, we got together, emailed each other with ideas, started working…and the following chapter was born.

It all takes place, obviously, after Book 2. We do not own Book 3 or Avatar: The Last Airbender. Let's face it, we all wish we did.

Enjoy and Review!

ScorpioRed112 and sam81609

* * *

**Chapter One: Regrets**

"I betrayed Uncle," Zuko said, shivering. He felt broken and regretful. The only person who had stayed with him through his banishment, Iroh, was now his prisoner.

"No, he betrayed you," Azula responded. Her face was glittering with the perspiration of defeat, her eyes emotionless. But Zuko knew that Uncle wasn't a traitor.

Zuko was the traitor. The traitor and the liar and the cheater. All of the above.

"Today, you restored your own honor." It seemed like an understatement. Something was wrong with Azula...something was wrong with him. This wasn't right. This wasn't how he had envisioned getting his honor back. Perhaps what he was expecting was a fantasy, but this feeling...a squirming feeling of guilt twisting in his gut...this wasn't right.

"I guess so," he replied faintly, not sure of what else to say.

Azula's lips curled into a smile. She moved to the Earth King's throne and placed herself firmly in the golden seat. "Father will be very proud of you, Zuko. You've managed to do something that even the Fire Nation's greatest project wasn't able to do." Azula crossed her legs. "We've conquered the Earth Kingdom . Father won't have to restore anything for you. This day is worth honor in itself."

"I want him to restore my honor," Zuko replied, annoyed. His tone rose. "I want to be permitted back home. I want him to welcome me back!" Zuko's eyes narrowed. He knew this was too good to be true. "I don't want to restore my own honor! Father has to."

"Don't be so childish," Azula replied. But she said nothing else of the matter.

"I'm not being childish. It's the—"

"Are we interrupting anything?" a voice asked from the arching doorway. "Azula, what are we supposed to do with Long Feng?"

It was Ty Lee, Azula's childhood friend. Behind her stood Mai, another familiar face to Zuko. It felt like ages since he had last seen them. But time had not ruptured the annoyance he felt whenever they talked, or glorified Azula for her conquests.

"Lock him up," his sister responded. "He's the last of my concerns."

"And the city?" Ty Lee pressed. "Now that we've conquered it, there's really nothing left to do."

Mai said nothing. Her eyes were glued to the young Fire Nation prince, her face red with anticipation. How long had it been since she had last seen Zuko?

Ty Lee must have felt Mai's sudden discomfort.

"Look Mai, it's Zuko! Hi, Zuko!" Ty Lee cart-wheeled to him, leaving Mai without a shield. "What did you do to your hair?" she asked. "It looks so...messy! Wow, I didn't think that burn would scar that bad!" She reached out to touch Zuko's face, but he caught her hand mid way and lowered it. His eyes twitched.

"Oh, you haven't seen Mai yet, have you?" But Mai was no longer in the doorway.

"Shyness got the best of her, I suppose," Ty Lee added. "She'll have to talk to you sooner or later."

Zuko grimaced. "When are we going home?" he asked quickly, eager to change the subject. "And where are we supposed to sleep?"

"We have the whole palace to ourselves, silly!" Ty Lee exclaimed. "We can do whatever we want!"

"True," Azula agreed. "But I'd rather have a general take care of Ba Sing Se. The Avatar is the only threat standing between the Fire Nation and Sozan's Comet."

"He doesn't seem very powerful, Azula." Ty Lee pointed out, referring to the child Avatar, as she sat on the armrest of the throne. "I mean, he ran away from you guys."

"And he won't heal from that hole in his back for a while," Zuko observed.

"I have no doubts about his injuries," Azula responded quietly. Had she gotten the chance, she would have destroying his healing friend as well as him, but Iroh had interfered.

"And the Day of Dark Sun? What are we supposed to do about that?" Ty Lee asked.

"We'll have to wait and see." It was obvious Azula hadn't planned any part of further defeat. Ba Sing Se seemed to be the end of her planning, but she would think of something soon enough.

* * *

It was early morning, but still dark. Appa had landed somewhere far from Ba Sing Se, a murky area with no water or clearing near. Not too long ago, Sokka had taken the Earth King and Basco to stay with Hakoda. There he would plan to regain control of Ba Sing Se, but without the help of the Avatar.

Katara had wanted to go with her elder brother, only to see her father again. But she knew she was needed with Aang, still recovering, and Toph, who wouldn't be gentle to Aang in his healing stages. She told Sokka to send her father her warmest regards.

In the dimness of the night she listened to Aang's breathing, his head resting softly on her chest. His limbs dangled loosely to Katara's sides as one arm was propped fondly over her shoulder. With every rasping breath he drew, Katara held him closer. His body was warm and shivering at the same time, but he was alive. All that mattered was that he was alive.

Toph sat some distance away, obviously uncomfortable with all of the prickly shrubbery. She wrapped herself tightly in the blanket Sokka had unloaded. "Is he going to be alright?" she asked perceptively, facing Katara's direction.

"He's going to be fine," Katara stated, her voice trailing off. "He just needs some time away from being Avatar, that's all."

Toph paused. "What did they do to him?"

Katara hadn't explained the Avatar State; the sudden rush of lightening that traumatized his body and sent him falling to the ground. She hadn't explained anything.

"They hurt him," Katara said flatly. Frankly she didn't want to relive the scene again. "They shot him," she specified, "with lightning."

Toph bit her lower lip.

Aang's breaths began to grow further and further apart. He coughed a few times and settled, twisting his position on Katara's worn and tired body. She propped herself up to support his dead weight.

"You know, I can hold him for you if you want," Toph offered, hearing Katara's grunts. "Twinkle Toes can't weigh that much."

"I'm fine," Katara reassured, straightening her back. "He doesn't weigh much at all, he's actually pretty light."

"Well you don't have to hold him, you know. It's not like he'll break if he's not being monitored."

Katara frowned. "I said he's fine, and I'm fine too. There's no reason to be like that, Toph. He just got electrocuted. Leave him alone."

"I'm only saying so for your sake," Toph offered. "You were fighting, too. I can tell you're tired."

As much as Katara hated to say so, she knew Toph was right. "I guess I am a bit tired," Katara admitted finally. She lifted Aang off of her body and placed him next to her. Carefully she crafted a comfortable bed and pillow for Aang out of her winter coat. She tucked him in slowly and made sure his wound was dry before she sat next to him, still awake.

"What about you, aren't you tired?" Katara asked the Earthbender from her spot. "Sokka told me what you did to the two guys tracking you. You could use some sleep too, you know." Toph answered with uneven snores.

* * *

"Sounds like a big battle," Hakoda said evenly, his hand resting on his Sokka's shoulder. "You handled yourself well, son"

Sokka practically glowed with pride. To be praised was one thing. To be praised by his father was another thing altogether. "Yeah, it was pretty big," Sokka agreed. "But I guess I don't know my own strength!" Sokka patted his hollow arms, smiling broadly.

"Was your sister fighting?" The smile on Sokka's face faded.

"Yeah," he admitted. "Yeah, she was fighting along with Aang—you know, the Avatar—it was a pretty intense battle—"  
"Your sister fought with the Avatar?"  
He was going to regret this. "Yeah. But she took care of herself, Katara's a lot better at her waterbending thing then she was when you left, you don't have to worry, she can take care of herself."

"She's strong," Hakoda agreed. "Like your mother was."

For a second they were both silent. Then, Hakoda clapped his hands, suddenly business-like, "Well, we have work to do. We have a former Earth King who wants his Kingdom back, and his—" he made a face, "Bear's things, and we have the Fire Nation, who will stop at nothing to get what they want. We need a plan of action"

Sokka nodded, and then snapped his fingers, remembering something. "The eclipse!"

"What?"

"The Darkest Day, the reason we went to Ba Sing Se in the first place!" Sokka said excitedly, "There's an eclipse coming towards the end of the summer, right before the comet—"

"Sokka, slow down," his father said, "First of all: what comet?"

Sokka quickly told his father the story of everything that had happened since they had left the Fire Nation on the Summer Solstice. "And then we went to this library, and we found information about an eclipse coming, and we brought it to the Earth King, but before we came up with an actual plan that whole deal with the Fire Nation taking over Ba Sing Se happened—"

"But your basic plan was to attack on the Darkest Day?"

"Yeah!" Sokka nodded, "All we have to do is go after them at their weakest, and they're finished!"

Hakoda nodded, "Give it a few tweaks, and we have ourselves a real plan here. Lets' get to work"

Sokka nodded enthusiastically and scrambled after his father.


	2. Chapter 2

Book Three: Fire

**Authors' Notes: **Glad you guys liked the last chapter. The more reviews we get, the more we write.

Sam81609: Hey, do we own Avatar: The Last Airbender?

ScorpioRed112: No, I'm afraid we don't.

Sam81609: I didn't think so.

Enjoy guys! Be sure to review!

-ScorpioRed112 and Sam81609

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**Chapter 2: Aang's Trials **

_The feeling of power was rushing through his veins…his mind, his body, expanded. It was like nothing he had ever felt before…Nothing…But then…_

_The pain...it coursed through his body, shut him down…and he was falling…falling... into a pit of darkness and unwanted cold._

"No!" Aang shot up like a bullet, breathing hard. A soft coughing spasm rushed through him until he could barely breathe. The pain of sitting up was unbearable, and after a second he fell back into the soft animal fur behind him. He would usually be against Katara and Sokka's pelts, but he didn't have the energy to argue.

The pain he felt whenever he drew a breath was agonizing. Surely something must have happened to his lungs, if not his spine. He felt loose and spongy, but also edged and inflexible. Carefully he turned to his side.

"Aang!" Katara's voice shattered his odd descriptions of pain. She sounded excited; in nearly an instant she was up and next to him. Aang could only make out the reflection of her deep cerulean eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he turned his head back and closed his eyes. Why was Katara so excited to see him? Aang could not remember, but he was glad that she was concerned for him. "What…what happened?"

"You mean you don't remember?" Katara's voice sounded childish, almost begging him to pull stained memories back from the earlier.

He shook his head.

"Azula," Katara almost spit out the word. "She…she electrocuted you when you went into the Avatar State. We thought you had…" Katara paused, thinking. "You had..."

Her voice drifted off into the midnight silence. After a second Aang inquired, "Then…then how am I still alive?"

"I healed you." Katara pulled out the small vial of water from around her neck. Her eyes shined with pride as she showed Aang it was empty, carefully unscrewing it and turning it upside down. Aang recognized the vial as the one Master Pakku had given her from the Spirit Oasis.

"You used that for me?" He knew he sounded surprised. "But Master Pakku said it was special, that you should save it for something important," Aang paused, trying to pull himself up. "Something special—Katara, you really didn't have to—"

"I did use it for something special," Katara's coy smiled forced a light shade of pink to brush across her cheeks. Timidly, she turned away from him. "I used it for you."

Aang felt his face go warm. Katara thought _he_ was important? Well, in retrospect, he was. After all, he _was_ the Avatar. Of course she would want to save him. She probably wouldn't have bothered otherwise.

Right?

Though it hurt to move, Aang felt himself reach for Katara's hand. "Katara...you..."

As if timed, a grumbling from behind Katara shook them from their trance. Toph was standing up and stretching, her mouth open in a wide yawn. Aang pulled back his hand.

"Good morning, Toph," Katara told the Earthbender, weary of her timing.

"Morning," Aang repeated, feeling the same.

"Have a good nap, Twinkle Toes?" Somehow Toph's sarcastic response had a less of a sharp edge than usual. Aang smiled slightly at her unlikely kindness and peeked his head up to see the horizon. The sun was starting to rise. A thought occurred to him.

"Where's Sokka?" Aang asked, remembering the older boy's habit of sleeping until noon.

"He took the Earth King and Basco back to his father," Toph explained. She walked over to the duo and sat down. "They can't stay with us, it's not safe for anyone else to be around us. Heck, it's not safe for _us_ to be around us!"

Aang chuckled at Toph's witty humor. Katara managed to smile. Things were returning to normal for their makeshift family.

Aang couldn't help but wonder what _normal _meant to him anymore.

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Zuko was wandering aimlessly through the palace, his head spinning. He was a traitor, he wasn't a traitor, he was a traitor, he wasn't a traitor. The argument swirled around and around in his mind.

For three years he had traveled the world, determined to catch the Avatar and restore his honor. He wanted to prove he was worthy. He wanted his honor back.

And now he had it. He had restored it himself; Azula had said so. Then why did he feel lower than dirt? Why did he want to bury himself alive?

He knew it was because he had betrayed Uncle. Iroh had stood by him through it all, through everything that had happened; and he, Zuko, had selfishly turned his back on everything he had been taught.

_You're a terrible person, you know that, always following us, hunting the Avatar, trying to capture the world's last hope for peace. But what do you care. You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and hatred is in your blood…_

The words rang in his head—the words of a young Waterbender who had been affected by this war as much as he had, if not more. Katara. But she wasn't like him. She wasn't selfish. She didn't have her honor hinging on a line. She didn't understand the measures he had to take to have things return to normalcy.

He knew that the Fire Nation would have the North Pole in mind; perhaps his father would place him and Azula in charge of that mission. Or maybe he and Azula would just go after the Avatar. Who was to know? His father was unpredictable. His father was evil.

Azula was evil.

Zuko walked into an empty chamber, plunging himself in an empty bunk. The room must've belonged to an Earth Kingdom general, one of the five that had been taken and overthrown.

Unintentionally he found himself in the same room as Mai, who had been quietly reading on a separate bunk closer to the door. Shocked and bewildered, Mai stared at Zuko wide-eyed, her lower lip wedged between her teeth.

"Zu...Zuko!" Mai murmured, as if Zuko had come back from the dead. It was obvious she was getting uncomfortable. Her hand shot up to her forehead. "I...I didn't know you were staying here..."

_Here we go again, _Zuko thought. Mai was silent, still staring.

After a moment of silence Zuko stood up and headed for the door.

Mai's eyes trembled. In a flash she had left the room, pushing Zuko out of her way, tossing her book randomly on the floor.

Zuko hated Mai. He hated her in a sense that she was too timid and afraid around him. She made him feel guilty for something he did not do. He remembered Azula telling him how much Mai adored him. Azula would constantly tease both of them, and then scold Mai for having such feelings for her brother.

Thus, Zuko was well aware of Mai's turbulent affections. There was no way he could tell if he felt the same. He had always thought of Mai as another limb of Ty-Lee, both of them genderless, squawking shadows. There had never been a time when he thought of Mai as a girl, or now, a young woman.

His quest for his honor, he realized, had actually destroyed any other mood or atmosphere in his mind. Now that he had his honor back, his mind became open, more calm, and perhaps a bit less obsessive.

Zuko picked up the book.

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So much had happened in the last few days, it was hard for Sokka to wrap his mind around it all. He hadn't gotten many details from what had happened with Aang and Katara, only that it had hurt Aang pretty badly. He wondered now how Aang was doing.

_Poor kid,_ he thought sadly, _He doesn't deserve this. None of us do._

What he wouldn't give to be back in his village right now, playing the big protector guy and showing off how great he was! But, like Gran-Gran said, his and Katara's destinies were tied with Aang's, and now also with Toph's. Aang was the Avatar. They were his teachers and protectors. There was nothing they could do to change that.

"Sokka?" he looked over his shoulder and saw Hakoda walking towards him. "Are you okay?" his dad asked, confused.

"It's nothing, Dad," he turned back to look out at the water, "Just thinking about what's been happening."

"A lot's happened since I left you, hasn't it?" Hakoda wrapped a protective arm around his son's shoulder. "You've grown up so much in just a few years. I've heard about your adventures with the Avatar, and I'm very proud of you. You've handled yourself like a real man." Hakoda smiled.

Sokka would have given anything to just bask in the glow of the praise his father was providing him with. But now that he'd been given time to think, everything was all hitting him hard. How intense the battles were, how they always seemed to _just_ scrape by, especially in this last battle. It was hard. Harder than he had realized. Sokka knew war was hard. He didn't realize how traumatizing it could be though.

"Thanks Dad," Sokka replied quietly. He knew he'd been forced to act like a real man because of Aang. A child couldn't do nearly a fraction of the job. "I really should be heading back now."

"You're right," Hakoda agreed. "Your sister and friends are probably worried."

Sokka looked at his father. A middle-aged man, firmly built, skin tanned from hard work and war, but a grin that said 'I'm ready for what the world's got. Bring it on.' Sokka stood up. "I'm going to miss you, Dad."

Father and son embraced and retracted, both a bit shaken. "Take care of yourself, Sokka," his father called to him as he made his way to Appa.

"I will Dad, you too."

"And Sokka," Hakoda warned, "be nice to your sister."

Sokka couldn't help but smile. He realized that this might be the last time he saw his father again. He waved from Appa's head. "Dad, be careful out there!"

Hakoda nodded. Sokka and Appa ascended into the sky.

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Aang was rolling side to side, shuddering slightly each time any pressure was applied to his back. He was sick of not being well, he decided, but he knew that it wouldn't do him any good to lie on his back. Everyone was aware that he hadn't recovered fully just yet. Katara had her work cut out for her, and even Toph—from what Aang could sense—was holding back on her "playful" insults.

He knew he had done a terrible thing. He had betrayed Katara. Let her go, just so _he_ could go into the Avatar State. Even after that, she had given it all to save him. She had used her Oasis water on him, and if that didn't show that she cared what did? What had he done?

He had let her go. The Guru had said he had to let everything he cared about go. But hadn't the Guru also said that Aang had to _embrace_ those who cared for him? He shivered slightly and curled up into a loose ball. His thoughts drifted to Monk Gyatso. He imagined his beloved teacher and Katara both on a balance. Which was more important? He imagined the Avatar State and Katara on a balance. What about now?

"Aang?" He sat up carefully and looked around. Katara was sitting next to him, her hair astray, her face pale and worried.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "You were talking in your sleep," she informed him. She curled her knees up beneath her chin as she often did when she was tired or detached. Her eyes remained fixed on his face, waiting for an answer.

Aang hadn't known that he was asleep. "I'm fine," he replied softly, "What was I saying?"

"You just kept saying _let go, let go_ over and over," she looked at him oddly. "It sounded a lot like a chant. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm positive," Aang lied blankly, grinning. "Probably just a bad dream or something."

"Okay." Katara's eyes flashed in Appa's direction. Sokka had arrived not too long ago. He had immediately propped himself on Appa's side and fallen into a deep sleep. So deep he didn't even seem to mind that Toph had taken his sleeping bag, again, and was using his leg as a pillow. Katara smiled at the sight and returned her gaze to Aang. "You know, you never told us what happened with the Guru."

The question he had been dreading. "Oh, you know…" He tried stalling for time so he could think, "lots of boring Avatar stuff, you probably wouldn't understand."

"Probably not." Katara laughed at how easily Aang could associate the word 'boring' with the word 'Avatar.' It was a pure insight into his charming nature. "How about I let you rest for a little bit?"

Katara pulled one of her pelts up to her chin and closed her eyes, leaving Aang to swim in his thoughts.

He knew he needed the Avatar State. It was his only powerful weapon against the Fire Nation. But to fully control it, he needed to let go of the ones he cared about. How could he do that again? Wasn't it enough that he had been isolated in an iceberg for one hundred years?

He wasn't sure how long he was lying there before another voice interrupted his thoughts. "What's up, Twinkle Toes?"

He opened his eyes and saw Toph walking calmly to his resting spot. He watched as she stepped over Katara with precision and accuracy, always amazed that the blind girl could navigate her way around anything. "Hey Toph," he said quietly.

"What? Speak up, I can't hear you," she joked, cupping her hand around her ear. She sat down next to him and blew a strand of hair away from her face. "Seriously," she began, "what did the Guru tell you that you don't want Katara to know?"

Aang stared at her in amazement. Hadn't she been sleeping when that conversation was going on? "How did you—"

"Any blind Earthbender a mile away could tell you were lying to her," she explained, looking past him. "I won't tell her," Toph promised. "I'm not like that, but you have to tell me something that I need to keep secret." She smirked, pleased with her conditions.

He sighed and pulled himself up fully, wincing slightly as he did so. Toph, as an after thought, pushed a small pile of berries towards him. "There isn't much to eat," she said in a surprisingly apologetic tone. "We lost everything we had with the saddle, and there just isn't anything around here."

Aang looked at the berries hungrily, not caring about what they were, just trying to decide which ones to eat first. "So talk," Toph commanded, laying back. "What happened?"

He popped a berry into his mouth, thinking, and finally launched into an explanation of everything the Guru had told him and taught him, right up to the part about Aang having to let go of everything and everyone he loved. Toph sat up when he got to that part, looking interested. "And I just couldn't do it," he said, looking down at his berry-stained hands. He traced the arrow on his right hand with his left index finger. "He was asking too much."

Toph started playing with her hair, turning to face the young Waterbender. She twirled a wisp of her hair around her forefinger, closing her eyes, as if remembering. "You love Katara, don't you?"

Aang choked. "W-What? No, no way, what? Where...? How..."

"You're acting just like my parents did when they talked about each other," Toph explained, chuckling. "They were lovey-dovey, always talking about how they were each other's 'one and only'. I was always kind of disgusted by it, to be honest."

Toph being disgusting by something of that nature was an easy picture to envision.

"Yeah, well…" he tried to think, "I don't love her like that, Toph. I mean, not like...well," Aang propped himself up and set his eyes on Katara's silhouette. What did he feel? "Love, but, I...I don't think I love her."

"Then why couldn't you let go of 'everyone' you cared about?" Toph had him there. She smiled in his general direction and said, "It's no big deal if you love her, even if it is kind of weird for a twelve-year-old to be in love." She stood up and started to walk back towards Appa.

Aang watched Toph walk away. "What would you say if I told you I _do_ love her?" Aang asked, more loudly than he would have wanted to.

Toph paused, pretending to think. "Probably something along the lines of 'gee, no kidding'." She sat down next to Sokka, yawning. "No offense, Twinkle Toes, but...you make it kind of obvious."

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	3. Chapter 3

**Book Three: Fire**

**Author's Note**: Hello again! Hope you guys like this chappie. Very lengthy, but very important.

Let's get some more reviews, people. The more, the merrier.

Enjoy!

Sam81609 and ScorpioRed112

* * *

**Chapter 3: Plans and Plots**

Aang, without doubt, was getting better and better each day. Every midnight Katara would tend to his minor wounds and tell him how much stronger he was going to be after this. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so what almost kills you will make you invincible."

Aang didn't believe that part. But he loved the attention he was getting. While Toph and Sokka would drift into sweet slumber, he and Katara would speak of little things, smiling at one another as they did, scurrying their eyes as blushes crossed their cheeks. He knew he saw their meetings like this, but he didn't know how Katara saw them.

It was her duty to heal the Avatar, after all. Or so she felt it was.

But it was mid day now, much to Aang's displeasure. He caught glance of Katara from his sleeping bag as she paced back and forth. Today was the day they were making plans. Aang's recovery time was over.

Sokka was in front of a small patch of dirt, his grimy hand holding fast to a long twig. Carefully he drew a diagram of Ba Sing Sei and the world in comparison, adding deep emphasis to the Fire Nation. Toph stood next to him, staring at the floor, her feet filling her body with vibrations of the rigid etches Sokka had made.

"This will never work," Katara mumbled, sighing. "We need _armies_ to defeat the Fire Nation." Her gaze worked its way to Aang's sleeping bag. He closed his eyes. "Aang can't take on the world alone. He can't even..." Her voice trailed off.

"I think I know what I'm doing, Katara," Sokka replied annoyingly at his sister. He hated it when she sided with Aang against him. "Me and Dad talked about this. We have the whole thing worked out. Just don't worry about it."

"Tell Twinkle Toes to come see this," Toph gestured. Katara walked to Aang's sleeping bag and shook him slightly. He sat erect as she helped him up. Carefully they made their way to Sokka's drawing.

"Dad knew a bit more about the Fire Nation than I thought he did," Sokka told them. "That crescent-shaped island was only the beginning. The Fire Nation has a lot of these little islands around this huge continent. They train their troops on the islands, according to Dad..." Sokka picked up a few pebbles and placed them around his rough sketch of the Fire Nation.

"The best way to bring down the Fire Lord is on the Day of Dark Sun ... but the problem is, they're probably expecting us then. Plus, we have no idea where the Fire Lord's palace is, or how to get in."

"This is sounding awfully depressing," Toph commented, crossing her arms. "In short, you have no idea what you're doing."

Sokka frowned. "I haven't gotten to the plan yet," he stated defensively. "Any way, Master Pakku will be more than willing to give us some Waterbenders. And we might be able to see Gran Gran if we take a quick trip back to the South Pole."

Katara smiled, but Aang shook his head. "You know what the Fire Nation is planning to do, don't you Sokka?" Aang took the long twig and circled the North Pole. "Now that Ba Sing Sei is out of the picture, they're going to bring down the Northern Water Tribe. We have to do something about _that_ first. And I'm sure there are troops up there who would be more than happy to join us."

Sokka sat still for a moment, processing this. "I...guess you're right," he stated slowly. "We have to get to the Fire Nation _before_ the Day of Dark Sun," Sokka explained. "No side-tracks then, that's the whole plan. Just like Azula took down Ba Sing Sei from the inside, we'll do it to the Fire Nation. It'll take us about two weeks to get there, then—"

"How do you plan on moving hundreds of troops into the Fire Nation without them noticing?" his sister asked. "What do you expect them to do when they find us? The Fire Nation's huge!"

Sokka sighed and grabbed the long twig from Aang. "Listen to me! I'm the 'Idea Guy', remember? Just calm down." Sokka stood up and whacked the twig against his gloved palm like a general would do before giving orders. "We'll get troops, many of them. It won't be easy. We may have to split up. We'll add the troops together; we'll find some place where we can do this. It'll be simple. Once we do, we'll keep taking them to the Fire Nation. Slowly, sure, but it _will_ work. I'm sure there are Fire Nation spies working for the Earth Kingdom, or at least, who _were_ working for the Earth Kingdom. We can find them; I know they're out there.

"And don't tell me it's impossible. We'll just have to get disguised, maybe use Fire Nation clothes or something. Aang, you're going to have to grow your hair out, all of it."

Aang frowned and felt his shaved head. In the days that Katara had been tending for him, a small brush of hair had begun to grow. He stroked it thoughtfully now, remembering that it had been nearly one hundred years since he had last seen himself with a full head of hair.

"Me and Katara are going to have to change our clothes, maybe cut our hair, something like that," Sokka continued, also feeling his head. "Toph...you might be okay the way you are. If needed, we'll find you some disguise too."

"Great," Toph said sarcastically. "Maybe I'll shave my head and put a huge arrow on it." She rolled her eyes, grinning.

"Once disguised, we'll have to start gathering people from here and there. Then we'll work on the Fire Nation...you know, ways to get in. There won't be any refugee camps. So I guess you were right about the South Pole thing, Aang... If we have to, we'll convince Fire Nation soldiers to leave their division and join us." Sokka swallowed. "I'm sure they can't _all_ be..."

"Bad," Katara finished for him. "No, not all of them are evil. Just an overwhelming majority." Her thoughts drifted to Zuko and her heart filled with guilt. Maybe if she had just convinced him to join them...if she had brought it up. But it was too late now. He was already off with his sister.

The area was silent for a moment as the friends thought about what they were about to do.

"So...this means we're splitting up again?" Aang asked, grimacing. "We can't split Appa into four parts. How are we going to—"

"We won't have to," Toph explained. "We're still very close to Ba Sing Sei. A couple of us can get into the city some how, maybe using the Bay that Sokka and Katara's father was protecting."

"Right," Sokka agreed. "I'm sure people are leaving that place now. They have to be. We can get in and out with the crowds of people and convince them to fight with us."

"They'll all be desperate to end this war," Aang predicted, nodding. "Then two of us can go up to the North Pole. Appa can fly us there, and Ba Sing Sei will have to be done on foot. It can't be a long flight from here, maybe a week tops."

"By that time, we would've formed a little militia," Katara joked, elbowing Aang's side. "And Dad will join in afterwards, right?"

Sokka nodded, again looking at his sketch. "This is going to work out perfectly." He sighed and added, "This war is coming to an end."

"We should start now," Katara told her brother. "We're going to have to do this as soon as possible."

"Once in Ba Sing Sei I can tell Dad how long it will take us to get people from the North Pole. He'll be coming in later, during the Day of Dark Sun. So I guess I'm going to Ba Sing Sei." Sokka wiped a string of sweat rolling down his cheek.

"Sounds logical," Toph added.

"If you're going to Ba Sing Sei, then whose going to the North Pole?" Katara asked. "There's no way Aang can go with you, his arrow is still showing through." She gestured Aang's head.

"I guess he'll have to go to the North Pole then," Sokka stated, rubbing his chin. "And since Toph won't be able to feel her way around up there, she'll have to come with me." Sokka tossed a quick glance at Toph, who smiled slightly.

"No way I'm going to a giant glacier!" she agreed.

Katara blinked in realization. The group was splitting up again, and this time the stakes of danger were much, much higher than before. She looked at Aang. "I guess we're going to the North Pole again," she told him, smiling.

"Well...it's time to do this." Sokka took of his sweat-drenched shirt and threw it on the ground. He was never able to bear hot weather. "First things first, we have to get disguises."

* * *

If there was one thing wrong with taking over a city, as Zuko realized, was that the glory didn't last forever.

It had been a total of about five days since the Fire Nation had taken control of Ba Sing Sei, during which Zuko had to deal with the fact that they were still here. Every day he told Azula he wanted to go back home, but she would shake her head and tell him that there was no rush. "If we leave, a rebellion will lash out. I'm _not_ going to lose Ba Sing Sei because you are homesick, Zuzu."

He would complain of how annoying Mai and Ty Lee were, but Azula would tell him to stop acting like a child. He would ask about Uncle, but Azula would tell him that visiting that traitor was by no means necessary. Zuko was beginning to regret what he had done.

Zuko was beginning to miss Uncle.

Through daybreak, he would sit alone in the palace, reading news of millions of refugees _leaving_ Ba Sing Sei. He thought of the heartbreak of those who had been born here. He thought of the children, hungry on refugee ships; he thought of all the awful pains the families were experiencing.

He had stopped Fire Bending since the city had fallen. He saw no use of using it now.

He thought a lot of his father, of the Avatar. He remembered his limp body and his crying friend. How could Azula kill such an important and influential person? How could she have dared? But it was all over now. Everything was over. He would be seeing his father very, very soon.

It was then Zuko remembered how awful his father was, how much he hated him.

But Zuko had been thinking in those five days. In fact, he had been thinking a lot. His plan had finally formulated: he was going back home without Azula. First he would find Uncle, then they would leave. Together they would go back to the Fire Nation, but not as captives.

Zuko was going to overthrow his father, as much as it scared him to do so. After living with Azula again Zuko had realized how annoying the girl could be, just as his father was. The young prince wanted his honor back, and he was going to get it himself, just like Azula had said.

_Thanks, Azula,_ he thought to himself as he entered the lower prisons of the palace. His time here had been very significant. Zuko was now familiar with most of the palace grounds and tunnels. Carefully he looked around. Inside were the prisoners, the five generals that Azula and the Dai Lei had overthrown. They looked at him as he passed by, their eyes flashing with anger and hate.

Zuko looked around, but his uncle was nowhere to be seen. He peered through one of the cell's dark metal windows. "I have a favor to ask of you," Zuko stated. His eyes darted from side to side, weary of guards. "You won't regret listening."

The general, still fat regardless of the awful food, looked up at Zuko and spat. "If I wasn't chained to this floor, I'd kill you." The general tried standing up, but his attempts were futile. The chains held his wrists close to the ground, so he could only squat with his legs crunched beneth him. "I'd kill _all_ of you! Damn filthy Fire Nation scum! Let me go so I can crush your head!" The general thrashed restlessly in the chains.

Zuko was beginning to regret coming down. "If you keep making noise, the Dai Lei will come back and beat the devil out of you." Zuko looked at the general, hardening his stare. "I want to help," he whispered. "But it's not going to work if you get all crazy like that, understand?"

The general had stopped thrashing around in his cell, but he still looked at Zuko with disgust. "Listen here, Fire Nation boy, those Dai Lei don't scare me. In fact, neither do you. This is probably some plan to see if I'll follow you or not. I'm not taking your word!" The general spit again, only this time the wad of saliva just missed Zuko's face. "Go jump in the river!"

"I want to help. I know more about the Fire Nation then you'll _ever_ know, you hear me? I grew up there. I just want to find my Uncle. We have plans of our own."

"Than what do you need me for?" the general asked, licking his dry lips. "Bait? For what? So the Dai Lei can come after me, and you and your uncle can leave?"

Zuko shook his head. "I don't know where my uncle is, and you know Ba Sing Sei more than I do," Zuko told the general, trying to pick the lock. Zuko knew that the man had once protected the Outer Wall. "I know you hate me, and I'm not to fond of you either. But I'm sick of my sister. I'm going to overthrow the Fire Lord." Zuko's voice was shaking with pride and fear. "By God, you're going to help me do it."

"Ha!" The general tried to stand up again. He fell to the floor and began laughing—a deep laugh that made Zuko shiver. "Boy, you don't fool me for a second." The general spit for a third time. "You get me out of here. I'll decide from there if I'll help you or not."

"What? Forget it then!" Zuko spun around angrily. "I may hate my sister and the Fire Lord, but I'm not about to go all soft on you just because you think I'm desperate." Zuko shrugged. "Rot in this hell hole for all I care."

The general was silent for a moment. Zuko heard him move around restlessly and then sigh. "I know where your uncle is," he said. "I know where they took him. I'll help you, but after we get past Ba Sing Sei, we won't be partners anymore. I plan on taking this kingdom back, even if I have to die doing it."

"And your friends?" Zuko looked in each individual cell. The men stared back.

"They'll help us," the general affirmed. "They trust one another. Besides," the general smiled smugly, "if you take us all out, it'll be five on two! Wouldn't the odds be hilarious then, boy?"

"Hmp." Zuko began picking the lock again. For some reason, he didn't feel threatened by the general or his friends. They were all old; they had all been tossed in prison. Plus, Zuko knew they wanted their kingdom back. The door flung open. Zuko began working on the general's chains.

"Hey, you be careful. Boy, you know them Dai Lei have the keys, don't you? Agh! Watch it!" With a few uncomfortable tugs and twists, the general was free. The clenched his fists wildly and pointed at Zuko. "Damn! I don't care were you're from, you have my word on this whole idea of yours!"

Glad that the general was appreciating his new found freedom, Zuko began working on the other locks.

It took some time, but soon all five of the men were free, stretching and smiling at Zuko. He sensed their hollow thoughts and grins, knowing and remembering that they still hated him deep down. "What about my uncle?" Zuko asked now, turning to the Wall general. "Where is he?"

The general pointed to one of the empty cells. In the back, Zuko noticed another door. It was locked up tight, and there were no windows.

"That?" Zuko grumbled. "They're keeping him in that?" In a fit of rage and frustration Zuko ran towards the door and unleashed a treacherous form of a two-legged kick. Both the force of Zuko's feet and the wild flames made the door buckle, and it fell to the floor like an old piece of cardboard. Zuko ran inside.

"Uncle!" he cried when he saw the odd lump of flesh sitting at the furthest corner. Zuko helped Iroh to his feet and embraced him. "I'm sorry Uncle...but I'm going to fix it! We're getting out."

Iroh looked at his nephew with a distraught shine in his eye. "I'm sorry too, Zuko. But I'm not helping you anymore." Iroh's voice was raspy, as if he hadn't used it in a long time. "You choose this path and I'm not going to retrace your steps with you." Iroh sat down on his stained mattress, smoothing his clothing over his knees. "It's time you learned the consequences of your actions."

Zuko was dumbfounded. He stared at his uncle with a mixture of hate and apology. "I...what I did was..."

"It was wrong," Iroh stated. "Very, very wrong."

"Everything was going so fast! You and Azula...the Avatar's friend, and you came down with him next to you! My honor, uncle! You never cared about my honor! I just wanted it...I just wanted it back..." Zuko knelt to his uncle's side. Zuko felt his uncle's sharp stare as he eyed his nephew's new Fire Nation uniform.

"Honor is nothing without love and trust. And that is the Fire Nation's greatest blunder!" Iroh stood up aggressively and pointed to the five generals. "You think you can just march up to Ozai? You think it is this easy?" Iroh was angry now; he turned his attention back to Zuko. "You always think things can happen so quickly! You never think anything through!"

Those words were familiar to Zuko. But he stood up regardless and touched his uncle's shoulder. "I have thought this through, Uncle" Zuko said. "I have thought it through many, many times."

Iroh looked at his nephew as he sighed and crossed his arms. "Are you with or against Azula?"

"Against," his nephew replied. "Uncle...I'm going to overthrow my father. I want you to be there with me. Help me fix this mistake."

Iroh was silent for a moment. Zuko felt terrible inside, as if his whole plan was nothing if his uncle wasn't by his side. But then Iroh quickly embraced Zuko, smiling. "Fine," Iroh said. "This one time. Only because red is not your color."

"Touching," the Wall general stated from the door. "But are we going to get out of here or what?"

"The Dai Lei check on us every so often," another stated, his voice full of worry. "We have to get out now!"

Zuko nodded and took his uncle's hand. They walked towards the exit as slowly and as quietly as possible.

* * *

p 

"I don't know about this whole thing that Sokka's got planned," Aang was telling Toph. Sokka and Katara had put their hair down and walked to the nearest village for disguises. Toph and Aang stayed behind, Toph because she couldn't see and Aang because he didn't care.

"It'll work," Toph replied in annoyance, stuffing a berry into her mouth. "It has to. To say the truth, it's the first thing that Little Sarcasm has said that makes any sense."

"I'm just afraid there won't be enough troops to fight," Aang said. He was actually afraid of the Fire Lord's enormous glare and fighting power. His daughter had been a worthy opponent.

"That's not what you're afraid of," Toph said as she stretched. "Katara told me about the whole nightmare deal with the Fire Lord. You don't give yourself enough credit." Toph stood up and took a fighting stance. "You were able to toss the Blind Bandit out of the ring, remember? The Fire Lord shouldn't be a problem."

"That was a different story," Aang replied, remembering. "I don't want to get you guys mixed into this war. I'm always afraid that I'm going...that one of us is going to..."

"That one of us is going to die? Well, you already took the fall for us." Toph smiled and added, "You don't give us enough credit, either. _You_ were the one who got shot in that battle."

Aang narrowed his eyes. He hated it when Toph was right. "Yeah, yeah..." He waved her arguments off dismissively.

Katara and Sokka then arrived with bags full of clothes and other accessories. Katara tossed the bags on the floor and glared at her brother, who was stroking his new white beard, deep in thought. "Just because you're obsessed with that thing doesn't mean I should carry all the other stuff!" she argued, ripping the fake piece of hair from her brother's chin. "Of all the useless things in the world..." She threw the beard in the bag.

"Hey!" Sokka rummaged after the beard quickly. "It is _not_ useless," he proclaimed to Katara's back, still looking for the fuzz of hair.

"Okay," Katara started, ignoring her brother. "We spent a good portion of our money on this stuff—"

"Yeah, we spent _all_ of our money on this stuff!" Sokka interrupted.

"Right...anyway, I think they should buy us some time." Katara carefully pulled out three tan and green garments from the first bag. Tan robes with green sashes and black embroidery, authentic Earth Kingdom wear.

The young Waterbender laid the clothes on the ground and pulled out a tan, pointed hat. She grinned and threw the hat to Aang. A perfect fit.

For her and Toph, Katara had bought extravagant head pieces, also in shades of tan, brown, and green. Two pairs of earrings and two necklaces of false jade, as well as many other bracelets and rings, were also part of the entourage.

Sokka had bought himself and Aang some false moustaches and beards, in a total of four different colors. Aang grinned warmly as he tried one on; staring at himself through a small mirror Katara had given him.

"No one will be able to recognize us now," Aang said matter-of-factly.

"I'm going to cut my hair, too," Katara added, twirling a strand with her finger. "And maybe Toph's..."

But Toph frowned in Katara's direction. The Waterbender smiled coyly, a chuckle erupting in her throat. "Toph, I won't cut it if you don't want me to," she stated softly. "It's about time we did something different anyway...and I'm sure we won't be recognizable if we _did_ cut it."

"I don't want you to cut it," Toph retorted in a low tone. "If you want me to do something different, _I'll_ cut it."

"You guys, does it even matter?" The young Avatar was playfully adjusting his hat. "Katara, Toph looks exactly like every other Earth Kingdom person. She'll be fine."

Toph smiled, satisfied with the answer. If there was one thing she despised, it was change.

Sokka cut in, wearing his new black robe with the emerald green sash. He looked like a noble with his nose stuck up in the air. "Guys, this plan is fool proof," he stated as he spun around, modeling his new clothes. "I guess we better get started on part two of the plan."

The friends nodded. They began packing their things.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note**: That's it guys, we have to know: What do you want from us? What will make you review more? What does it take to make people recognize our work? Help! We'll take any advice you give us, but we really want to know: what can we do to make this better?

We apologize for the wait. But if we don't get enough reviews, you're going to have to wait twice as long.

**Disclaimer**: We own Avatar: the Last Airbender! Just kidding, you know we never will

Enjoy!

Scorpiored112 and Sam81609

* * *

**Chapter 4: Action**

It was another couple of days before the gang could set off. They were planning around the Fire Nation's subtle movements: silent troops passing around the camp and the Nation's scouts, who were still busily wondering about the grounds of outer Ba Sing Se. The gang also planned around the last of Aang's recovery days, though there was very little time for him left. After much time and careful movements, they were ready.

After Sokka had insisted on wearing his new attire, he and Toph were packing up food and canteens of water for their trip. Katara and Aang were busy tying their own belongings tightly together so they would be easier to carry.

"We really should try and find a new saddle somewhere," Katara said as she tied her sleeping bag to Aang's. She paused afterward. Where would they find a saddle for an animal thought to be extinct?

"Worry about a saddle later," Sokka said impatiently. "It's almost noon; lets get going. Toph, you ready?"

She pretended to look herself over. "Pretty sure I am, yeah."

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Katara, Aang, you guys ready?"

"Ready and able." Aang jumped into the air and landed on Appa's head. "As long as we don't get into any roadblocks, we should be at the Northern Water Tribe in a little under a week." Katara threw one of their bundles up to Aang, who caught it and secured it on Appa's back.

"Hey Toph," Sokka called, "Do you think you can carry something?"

"No, Sokka. Save yourself the burdens. I'm so weak and pathetic!" Toph's sarcastic monotone dropped at the end of her sentence as she fluidly rushed the back of her hand to her forehead.

Sokka picked up the heaviest bag he could find and flung it at the Earthbender as hard as he could, sending her head over heels. She grumbled a bit as she pulled herself into a sitting position. Hitting the ground with her foot, the dirt rumbled, and a second later Sokka was sent flying, landing on the ground at Katara's feet. He looked up at his sister, displeased to find that she was concealing a laugh.

"You walked into that one Sokka," Aang said, running his hand over his little brush of hair. It had grown a little more over the next few days, and had taken on a distinct dark brown color. He was still worried that it had yet to completely cover his arrow.

"Yeah, yeah," he pulled himself up, groaning.

"Are you two going to survive the trip to Ba Sing Se?" Katara asked doubtfully.

"We'll be fine," Toph assured the Waterbender. "Come on Genius, lets' get moving"

Sokka grumbled as he pulled himself up. Aang jumped off of Appa as Toph walked over. "Well, it's been fun," Toph said, kicking at the ground.

"Come on, this isn't goodbye," Katara said bracingly, frowning. "We'll see each other again soon."

"Right," Aang said strongly. "We're all going to meet at the Fire Nation boundaries in a three or four weeks—it'll fly like that," he snapped his fingers.

"All right, enough sappiness," Sokka cut in. "Toph, lets' go. Aang and Katara, you guys should get going—"

But before he could finish, they'd all drawn each other into a group hug. "Take care of yourself," Katara whispered into her brother's ear.

"You too," he said, wrapping his arm tightly around her. After a second they pulled away. Aang and Katara climbed wordlessly onto Appa and looked back at their friends. Sokka was looking solemnly up at them, his eyes hiding the hurt he felt that they were once again being split up. Toph was looking straight ahead into Appa's fur coat, pushing tears away.

"Good luck," they all said in one voice. "Yip, yip" Aang added, snapping Appa's reigns. Appa rose into the air, and they took off. Aang and Katara looked back as they rose into the sky, and saw Toph and Sokka turning back towards Ba Sing Se.

* * *

"Hey Zuzu!" said an overly chirpy voice from behind the Fire Nation Prince. Zuko frowned and dropped his head into his hands.

"Tai Lee, I swear, if you call me that one more time—"

"You never saying anything to Azula about it," the former circus girl bounced into his line of sight, smiling. "What's wrong, are you afraid of her?"

"Get lost!" he yelled, losing his patience. Tai Lee seemed to get a kick out of driving him crazy. She did an amazingly good job at it too.

"You're so sensitive," Tai Lee said, whirling around a few times. She jumped down and pushed herself up with her hands, looking at him upside down and grinning. He took it as his chance and pushed away, running down the hallway of the palace. He ran into the first door he could find and slammed it shut.

"Can I help you?" he grimaced; it was obvious he had the worst luck on planet Earth. He had ended up in the throne room with Azula.

"Just trying to escape your maniac friends," he shot back.

"Stop being so childish," Azula said scathingly. "All you ever do is complain, complain, complain; it's so pathetic"

"I'll tell you what else is pathetic," he muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing," he dropped his glare. He didn't want to argue with his sister, especially now that he was humoring her. The more she got on his nerves, the more he wondered how much longer it would be for him to leave. Regaining his calm, he stated, "So are we going home soon or not?"

"You'll never stop, will you?" Azula rolled her eyes, bored.

"We have to go eventually," he said impatiently, crossing his arms. "You have prisoners you have to bring back, remember?"

"And I'll get them back," she said, still sounding bored. "No one asked you to be my advisor or tell me what to do. At the moment, I'm more worried about Ba Sing Se"

He huffed impatiently, whirled around, and walked out, slamming the door behind her. _"I'm more worried about Ba Sing Se_" he mimicked under his breath. "You should be more worried about the rebellion that's being formed right under your nose."

He went down to the prisons late at night, when he knew the Dai Lei weren't there, and made his plans with Iroh. This needed to be done right; he couldn't rush it like everything else he had done in the past.

So far it was basic. They had to get into the Fire Nation. To do that they, most unfortunately, needed Azula. She'd already said she planned on bringing Iroh back to the Fire Nation so he could be put on trial for treachery. Zuko was going with them, and together he and his uncle would overthrow the Fire Lord. But that was the part where things got difficult. Ozai was bound to have heavy security, and there was no way Zuko and Iroh alone could fight through tons of experienced Firebenders. No matter how good the two of them were, they'd be overpowered in a second. They needed more power.

They needed the Avatar

The thought of working with the Avatar was actually enough to make Zuko laugh; given the chance, the Avatar and his friends would tear him apart in a second. They'd never believe his true intentions, and even though he wasn't sure he blamed them, that didn't help him at all.

He made his way to the lower chambers and opened Iroh's cell.

* * *

"Nice day today." It was the first words either Katara or Aang had spoken since they had taken off. In truth, it was getting close to nighttime, but Aang couldn't take the silence anymore.

"What?" Katara looked up from the water, her eyes staring off in no particular direction. She sighed and stretched and replied, "Oh yeah, it's really nice out."

Aang blushed lightly and looked back at the water in front of him. Why did this have to be so uncomfortable? Back at the campsite they'd been able to talk with ease. Now it just seemed unbearably awkward. "What do you think is going to happen with me learning Firebending?" he finally said. Frankly he had been dreading the question, but no other topic seemed more appropriate.

"Hmn?" She looked over at him. "Oh…good question. I suppose we could try and find Jeong-Jeong, but we don't have time for that. The only solution would be to find a Firebender along the way that's willing to help. The problem is, by this time, all the Firebenders are either evil, or probably just too afraid to rebel against the Fire Lord."

"I was thinking…" he paused.

"You were thinking?"

"I was thinking maybe…" he hesitated. "Maybe we could get Iroh to help us, you know, and he could—you know, teach me."

"Iroh?" she made a face, remembering. "I don't know…"

"He helped us before. I mean, even if it was only to help Zuko but—"

Suddenly the end of the battle came to Katara. Her voice erupted, louder than it should have been. "No, no...he helped us afterwards too, when…" Aang looked up as Katara's voice drifted off.

"When what?"

She sighed, "After Azula hit you with the lightning. He gave me time to grab you and escape. He was captured by the Dai Lei though."

Aang's eyes grew wide. He'd never heard about what happened after he was hit by the lightning. "Iroh sacrificed himself to save _me_?" he asked, shocked.

Katara nodded, looking upset. Aang frowned. He'd always thought of Iroh as just being an enemy. But when he had gone with Iroh to save Zuko and Katara, he'd seen another side to the old Firebender. His heart dropped.

"We have to save him."

Katara looked over, surprised. "We have other things to worry about," she said firmly. "Maybe you want him for your Firebending teacher, but right now we have to concentrate on the big matters, which concerns getting to the North Pole." She placed a hand on his shoulder, a gesture of her frequent care and worry.

Aang sighed, but he knew the girl was right. He would have to worry about Iroh later, and that would only be if he had time. "We should land for the night," Katara cut through his thoughts.

"Oh, right," he looked around and pulled at Appa's reigns, "Going down, buddy."

* * *

"I'm _tired_," Sokka groaned, falling against a tree.

"Oh come on," Toph spun around to face him. "I told you to stay in your regular clothes until we got into Ba Sing Se; it's those shoes of yours that are killing you."

"Oh be quiet," he mumbled, proud of his new attire. "I just didn't want anyone to recognize us, that's all. Besides, it's getting dark out, maybe we should stop for the night."

"No skin off me," the blind Earthbender shrugged. "If you wanna stop, we'll stop."

"Thank you!" He dropped to the ground and started working on a fire. When he looked up, he saw that Toph was still standing, "Stay awhile, why don't you?"

She didn't even crack a smile. He couldn't say he was surprised; Toph was very hardcore. "You need to lighten up a little," he said as he finally got a fire going, "Can you tell where the fire is?"

She nodded and sat down carefully. "So what've we got to eat?"

He dug through his bag, "Mostly fruit, that's all Katara and I could find at the market we went to. Besides, their meat looked rancid. Want an apple?"

She shrugged, and he handed it to her over the fire, taking an orange out for himself at the same time. "So…"

He couldn't believe how weird this was. He just couldn't talk to Toph the way he could to Aang or Katara. She was unknown to him. The only time she ever seemed to crack a smile was when she was making a joke (normally at his own expense). He still hadn't forgotten the incident with his lost Appa posters. "Toph, can I ask you something?"

"Knock yourself out, Captain Obvious. I've got nothing better to do."

Sokka hesitated. His observation skills and people skills both needed work, but he was curious. "How come you always seem like you're really upset about something?" He cocked his head at her. "You almost never smile, unless you're making fun of someone. It always seems like you're in a permanent bad mood." He paused and added, "I'm not saying you have to be as chirpy as my sister and Aang but still..."

She took a final bite out of her apple as Sokka spook, thinking about her answer. She threw the apple behind her and wiped her hands over her clothes. "Well, in terms you'd understand..." She hesitated. "Have you ever been a prisoner?"

He shook his head, and then remembered that Toph couldn't see him. "No, I haven't been a prisoner."

"Well I have, for twelve years, actually. It was miserable. I didn't have any freedom; it was the worst feeling in the world. I didn't have any thing to smile about. The only time I was ever happy was when I was Earthbending, and it wasn't even like I could do that all that often. It was my own personal hell, really. If you had to live like that, would you ever smile?"

Sokka's face stood emotionless, but then remembered that he too had been a prisoner in the South Pole. How many lonely nights had he spent waiting for his father to come home? How many times had he dreamed of being far away from the bitter snow and cold, perhaps in an Earth Kingdom village somewhere? How many longer nights had he stayed wide awake while his younger sister, still too young to understand, would pray for their mother? So yes, in a way, he knew the feeling, and regretted asking. Toph was no lonelier than he was. But he did have, at one point, a village to support him. The village helped a lot.

Considering these factors he finally answered, "But you're free now."

"That doesn't matter," she frowned and pulled her knees up under her chin. "Or it doesn't to my father, anyway. And besides, nothing in life is permanent."

"What do you mean?"

She narrowed her eyes at a tree far away, "He sent my old Earthbending teacher and that guy from Earth Rumble Six after me to capture me and bring me home. That's what the letter I got from my mother was about; it was a trap. They almost had me too. They were just stupid enough to underestimate me; that's the only reason I got away. They aren't overly bright." Toph blinked at the memory. "I wonder if they managed to get out of that metal prison?"

Sokka had no clue what she was talking about now, but he got the gist of what she was saying all together. "It doesn't matter if your parents don't understand you. You're away from them for good now, and you have friends that _do_ understand you."

He waited for a second, and was surprised to see a smile spreading slowly over the blind girl's face, wider than any smile he had ever seen before. "You're right," she said finally, rubbing her eyes. "Thanks, Sokka"

For one glowing second he felt happy—until she added, "I guess even the brain dead have burst of intelligence once in awhile." And then she went to sleep.

* * *

_Aang whirled around. He was surrounded by flames, they were coming down on him from all sides. "What's happening?" he yelled at the top of his voice. He tried to Airbend, but nothing happened. There was no water around, and he couldn't feel the ground beneath him to Earthbend. The flames were closing him on him. "No!" he yelled, "No! No! STOP"_

_He threw his hands out, and the flames dispersed. "What the…" he pulled his hands back and looked at his palms, "Did I just…Firebend?"_

_He looked around at his surroundings, but there was nothing except black. He felt as though he had been thrown into a pot of ink. The boy held his hand carefully, concentrating. After a second, a small flame appeared in his hand. "What is this?" he asked aloud. After a second his face split into a grin. He was Firebending._ He _was_ Firebending!

_"Wow!" he cried, throwing his hands out. A large cyclone of flames surrounded him. It was_ amazing!

_Suddenly the cyclone started to close on him. "Hey!" he yelled._ "Hey!"

_He tried to concentrate on it and keep it open, but no matter what he did, nothing happened. He could feel the heat of the flames as they closed on him. "Stop!" he yelled, "Stop, stop right now! STOP!"_

"Aaaaaahhh!" Aang shot up, breathing hard. Momo, who was sleeping on top of him, bolted away.

"Aang?" Katara's voice cut the still air and his strange breathing. She quickly lifted herself out of the blankets and raced to his side. "Are you okay? What was that?"

"Fine," he said, wiping his sweaty forehead. "You know, just another dream." He hated it when she worried for him for nothing, and he cursed himself for screaming and waking her.

"Are you sure?"

There was a silence.

"Yeah," he laid back down on his side. His head throbbed with thoughts. Suddenly he sat up. "Katara?"

She had started to turn to her sleeping bag. She turned, her eyes bright against the darkness. "Hmn?"

He paused and stood up. His stare was intense, and his face was flushed. "I'm sorry."

Confused, she asked, "For what?"

"For what happened before." He looked down at his hands, again wracked with shame. "When we were with Jeong-Jeong."

Katara smiled and took his hand. She couldn't help but laugh. "You're not still thinking about that, are you?" she asked him. A questioning and curious tone succumbed her voice.

"I am, yeah." He sighed and looked around. They'd landed in a clearing just outside of the forest. It was roughly midnight, but Aang felt wide-awake.

"Tell me, Avatar," Katara stated quietly, "what this is all about." She pushed him to sit down. For a while the silence entranced them. They sat quietly, cross-legged, and uncomfortable.

His eyes drifted back to her, and he said in an almost defeated voice, "I can't do it."

"Do what?"

"I can't Firebend!" He looked away. "I can't Firebend; I can't win this war. I can't help anyone." He drew his knees up under his chin. "I'm useless."

"What are you talking about, Aang?" Katara asked, surprised. She sat closer to him. "You're one of the most useful people I've ever met!"

"You don't understand." He wrapped his arms tightly around his knees and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to push back the tears. "I can't do this…this Avatar thing. Learning Air, Water, and Earth are all no problem; they aren't dangerous. But the Avatar State and Firebending…I can't do them. I can't. They're the biggest part of being the Avatar, and I can't deal with them..." His voice parted in between the words. He was whispering, almost to himself. "I just can't!"

He yelled that last part at the top of his voice. A flock of birds exploded from a nearby tree, squawking loudly as they took off into the night. Momo, who had just fallen back to sleep on top of Appa, jerked awake for the second time. Appa grumbled loudly as his eyes opened.

"Aang," Katara said after a second of the disruptive silence. "Aang, look at me, please."

Aang's eyes burst open, obviously moist. Katara's words shot him straight and hard. "What aren't you telling me?" she asked him. "What's so bad you won't tell me, but you'll tell Toph?"

_How did she know! You idiot! You and your loud voice! _Aang's palms immediately grew sweaty. Had Toph told Katara of their talk? This was embarrassing. Utterly and without a doubt the most embarrassing thing Aang had ever had to deal with. He bit his lower lip.

"I heard you talking to her," Katara quickly explained. "I didn't hear all of what you said, but I heard enough to know you're hiding something. Aang, I'm your friend, you know that right?"

The boy nodded and his companion smiled.

"Then you know you don't have to hide things from me. You don't have to suffer alone, I'm here with you; we all are, Toph, Sokka, and I. We'll always be here to help you, but you have to let us."

He looked up at her, his thoughts still swirling inside his head. Why was he so afraid to tell her? What was the big deal? Aang cursed Katara's ability to make him feel so comfortable. He put his legs down and smoothed the thinning cloth over his knees. He sighed, "Katara?"

"Yes, Aang?"

The command was mixed within his throat. Suddenly a heavy rush flowed to his head and he felt like vomiting. But he embraced the feelings, embraced Katara's stare, and forced his lips to utter what he had wanted to say for a long time.

"Katara...don't _ever_ leave me."

The girl stared at him, clearly not surprised by this command. She held his hand, tightening her grip. "I won't. What makes you ever think I would do such a thing?" She pulled him to his feet, still smiling. "Aang, I won't _ever_ leave you. And I don't want you to think about that anymore. It's not going to happen now and it's not going to happen later. And thinking about this is obviously getting in the way with all this Avatar stuff you have to worry about." She shook off his concerns with a wave of her hand.

It was quiet again. The companions looked deep into one another's gaze. "Is that it? That's all you wanted to tell me?"

Aang nodded vigorously, his hand swooping to the back of his neck. "I know it doesn't really sound like much but—"

He didn't finish. Katara had pulled him into a tight hug, kissing his cheek. "You're so adorable sometimes!" She whispered to him. "Don't worry about this anymore." She walked back to her sleeping bag and feel asleep as Aang, confused and excited and warm, followed suit.


	5. Chapter 5

**Book Three: Fire**

**Author's Note**: Remember to review, hommies. And pay close attention to the virus we encounter in this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Five: The North Pole**

Time slowed. As Appa's massive body made it's way to the North Pole, Aang grew bored with Katara, and she grew bored with him. It was too difficult not too.

"I really miss the South Pole," Katara would whine sometimes, her eyes drifting to the clouds. "I really miss Gran Gran." It was as if the return to any Pole was hard on the nationalistic girl, and this obliviousness showed without her knowledge.

_I really miss Monk Gaytso! And my friends! But you don't see me complaining about it! _Aang would look the other way, embarrassed, and then change the subject.

Katara slept often, she also grew feverish by the 3rd day of travel. Her body would lay unmoving in a mass of animal furs as sweat oozed underneath. Within seconds, she would be thrown into a coughing fit, and then complain some more.

But stops were out of the question. The most Aang could do was look at her and give her more water, which always tasted dusty and unclean. The moaning and groaning grew unbearable, and the two retreated more into their own problems. They forgot their objective on some days, never resting once. And finally, when Appa grew so tired that he _needed_ to sleep, they landed on a small island composed entirely of snow, ice, and penguins.

"Aang, I feel like I need to vomit," Katara told him as soon as they landed. It was one of the first things she had said in a while.

And then, as promised, she did.

Aang rushed to her side, wincing at the sight of the squishy, partially digested fruit. He pulled the mass of thick hair out of her face. "You're really sick," he stated dumbly, obviously remorseful. "Have you ever been this sick before?"

Katara, still wrapped in a heap of blankets, looked up at him. "Not...once..." she whispered raggedly. "Never."

"Well...what am I supposed to do?"

Katara was silent. She blinked in no general direction, her eyes foggy and wet.

"Katara? What do you want me to get for you?" Aang bit his lip, pleading. "What can I do to make you better?"

But the girl didn't answer. She flopped down on the icy bank and hid her face in the snow.

"Katara, please!" Aang pulled her up, forgetting the girl's weight. "Please, please tell me what I need to do! Please don't do this to me!" Frantically he tried turning her over.

She turned to her back and tried lifting herself. With Aang's help, she was able to sit upright, but she still looked distracted and pale. "There's nothing you _can_ do," she stated plainly. She cleared her throat. "Aang, I don't know what's wrong."

Thankful he had gotten a response, he pushed himself closer to her. "Are you hungry?" He drew out a large sack of fruit and nuts.

She coughed. "I'm sick of fruit."

Aang raised his brow. "What's wrong with fruit?"

"I'm just so sick of it." Katara began shedding the layers of blankets and coats.

The boy lifted himself, toying with the snow beneth him. "What should I do?" he asked again.

"You don't have to do anything," Katara coughed. She stretched out carefully, trying to stand up again. "We're almost at the North Pole and there's a huge source of food in front of us." She looked to the penguins, her lips moistening.

Aang could tell the amount of effort she was putting into getting up and moving about. Her weight shifted from foot to foot as she wobbled towards the penguins dizzily. She murmured something to herself; she coughed, and then tried Waterbending.

A large blob of water followed her hand movements and then dropped hopelessly to the ground.

Katara murmured again. "The bending...it's gone." She paused. "I don't know why...the bending..."

"Listen, why don't you rest a bit, okay? I'll set up camp."

"We can't stop," Katara stated meekly, but she didn't say anymore.

Aang got everything ready, started a fire, and brought Katara's blankets out again. "So much for making progress," he told her. But she blinked at him, as if she didn't hear his comments.

* * *

Getting into Ba Sing Sei was no trouble at all. 

Toph provided the cover, Sokka provided the pass ports, and they slid through security passing for orphans. Easy as pie.

They stood now near the security desk through the inner walls as an old woman searched through their papers. "So, you're coming back _into_ Ba Sing Sei, huh? Ha! What a laugh. I'll tell you, kids, you're making a big mistake."

"We're just coming back to find our parents," Toph stated innocently, wiping her eyes.

"We lost them after we fled. We intend to find them," Sokka added.

"Well, good luck with _that_...I'll tell you, you kids, if you don't find them, well, don't be surprised. We've had a lot of 'lost and founds' lately—lost kids, lost parents, lost everyone. It's so sad...it's awful."

"You can't say they're _gone_," Toph cried, holding on to Sokka's arm. "Make her take it back, Roni!"

"Roni!" Sokka grumbled, detesting this new name. "Listen, lady, we're just trying to get through. You're scaring the crap out of my...uh, sister."

The old woman nodded, handing the papers to him, and shuffling off to the back of the office. "Here," she stated as she returned, and gave them a red sac filled to the brim with Earth Kingdom coins.

"What's this—"

"Shh!" The lady cut them off. "It's what the company hides after a good day's work, fees and such. If you...well, if you can't find your parents, consider it a helping hand from yours truly."

"What is it, Roni?" Toph cried miserably. "What is it?"

"Thank you," Sokka stated, still looking at the money. "Thanks a lot."

They left the station and headed for the city.

* * *

Aang feared that Katara was dying. 

The fever was bad enough, but then came the vomiting, and the sleep-talk, and the lack of bending, and the sweating. There was no symptom that Katara _didn't_ have. It was breaking Aang up, and he wondered constantly what was going on inside of her as well. After the fourth day of camping he became hopeless.

"Aang...Aang, come here," Katara called to him in her now usual raspy voice, coughing. "Listen, go kill me a penguin."

He was excited that she was talking, but also afraid of her command and her condition.

"Why would I—why should..."

"Listen to me!" Katara stated, blinking. "I'm so sick I can't feel my limbs, and I can barely see you. I want to eat something _good_."

"Don't say that! You sound like you're—"

"Dying!" Katara proclaimed. "I just have a feeling...I just remember Gran Gran saying something about penguin meat. I can't remember it. Do me this one favor, Aang."

"But..." He didn't say anything more. He was at the point of defeat, and didn't know what else to do. All of his remedies didn't work. Maybe Gran Gran's would. He went to the crowd of penguins, looking at them, angrily, almost.

He had never killed anything before. He had eaten meat, once, when he was younger. Maybe when he was sick, too. But he could not remember it now, or what to do when he killed it, or how he would kill it.

But Katara was sick, deathly ill, and she could die. And this was their last chance.

In a fit of blindness Aang swiped his staff to the ground, sending a sharp gust of wind through the crowd. They scattered, and one was left on the ground in its own pool of blood.

Biting his lip her carried it to the tent, remorseful but hopeful at the same time. Katara, seeing he had done what she had asked, gave him instructions to prepare the meat.

"Skin it, Aang—with a knife, here. Yes...slowly, there you go. Take the meat from the back only, not the front. Slit it and put onions in it. I can't remember what else to put...cook it now, quickly, Aang, too. Ah! I can smell it from over here."

The boy's face, twisted in disgust and fear, followed the directions exactly. His hands were quite red by the time he finished, and his heart was quite hollow as well, but he was hopeful. Every time he saw the blood and smelled the meat he told himself, _this will help. _The smell was obviously stirring Katara a little bit, and so Aang was glad for her but not so much for the penguin. He covered the remains of the body with a blanket, and hid it in the snow.

The girl launched at the penguin as soon as it was done, shoving large chunks of it in her mouth and licking her fingers afterward. _The wonders of meat,_ Aang thought, knowing that this was the first time Katara had treated any food like this.

"Mmm!" Katara cried, stretching her weakening limbs and throwing the clean plate at the ground. "Ah..."

"Are you...feeling...better?" Aang asked, still terrified. "Did it...help?"

"Help? Did it!" And, for the first time in days, Katara stood up and walked around the tent.

"Oh my God! How did it...how did... oh my God!" Aang grasped his head, eyes wide in wonder. "What happened?"

"I don't know!" Katara replied, still walking around, quickening her pace. "I knew it! I knew it would help!" She swung her arms around Aang's neck, kissing his cheek. "Thanks to you!" She stated, glad he did the unthinkable to make her well again. "Wow! I feel...so much better!" She continued to rediscover her limbs and face again.

"Aang, I don't know what I would do without you." She smiled warmly at him, kissing him on the cheek yet again, and began packing their things.

They left the wonder as a miracle, maybe, something they could not explain. How could penguin meat pull Katara back from a fatal disease? A disease that had not only ridden her of bending but almost killed her? It was weird, and Aang decided to forget that he had killed the poor creature. That night, they set off to the North Pole, now only hours away.

* * *

The inner cities had not changed much. There were fewer people and fewer salesmen, and the city looked poorer than it hand before. But, all in all, it really looked like the same Ba Sing Sei. Sokka guessed that the only changes were being made slowly, and that they would become noticeable with time. 

It was midday now, and Sokka and Toph were walking along a small, poverty-stricken ally.

"Damn! It's Zuko!" Sokka cried suddenly, pulling Toph behind the wall of a stand and peering over her shoulder at the Fire Nation Prince.

"That weirdo who sided with Azula? Why are we afraid of him?" Toph smirked and added a "Roni" at the end of her sentence.

"Would you stop calling me that? Jeez, we only needed it to get past the guards!"

"Well, it suits you, Sokka." Toph tapped her toes impatiently on the ground. "He's leaving."

Sure enough, Zuko was turning around with a bag of produce. But he stopped midway, and turned to the direction of Toph and Sokka's hiding place.

"Wait, never mind—"

"Sh!" Sokka slapped his palm against Toph's mouth, looking over her shoulder. The prince came to the hiding place, turned to face them, and stopped walking.

Sokka released Toph and pulled out his machete, glaring at the boy.

"Don't come any closer!"

Zuko blinked.

Toph slammed the ground with her left foot, and Zuko went flying, landing into a barrel of tomatoes.

"Agh!" he cried angrily, removing the juicy pulp from his uniform. "What was that for?"

"Don't think we're stupid," Sokka called. "Just because you can make a sap story to make my sister feel bad for you, it doesn't mean _we_'ll believe it!" Sokka ran to him, his blade in the air.

Zuko dodged, and the machete sliced the barrel in two. "Idiot," Zuko yelled. "I'm not going to fight you."

"Why not? Saving us for your sister?" Toph asked, sending a rock flying past him. He dodged yet again. "We'll kill you!"

"Stop!" Zuko called. "Stop it! Let me explai! The Avatar..."

"What for? You're already back on the throne." Sokka threw his boomerang, missing as it came both ways.

"I need him to overthrow my father," Zuko stated quietly. "Just listen to me for a second!"

"Let him talk, Sokka. If he tries anything funny, we'll kill him." Toph crossed her arms.

"Fine."

"You may have your mind set on this hatred of yours, but you're going to regret it." Zuko began. "I'm not liking what my sister's doing so far. And I'm not liking what my father is doing either."

"So?" Sokka asked. "_No one_ likes what your father is doing."

"I know. But I'm sick of them, and I plan on taking them down." He paused, and Sokka stared at him blankly. "Problem is, I can't do it alone."

"Shit!" Sokka cried. "Utter and complete crap! You think we're going to believe that?"

Toph blinked. "Sokka—"

"You honestly think we're going to follow you in the palace and fall in this trap of yours. You have the whole thing set up!"

Zuko shook his head. "No I don't—"

"Listen here," Sokka yelled, pointing at the boy's tomato-stained chest. "I hate the Fire Nation. And I hate you. And there's no way in hell we're going to believe you. If there weren't any witnesses, I'd let my friend here kill you on the spot."

"Sokka!" Toph cried. "Sokka, he's telling the truth."

The boy was silent for a second. "No, Toph. No, he's not."

"I'm serious. He's telling the truth."

"I am _not_ going to kill you. I do not have a trap set up. My sister doesn't care much about the Avatar, and I'm sure she thinks she's killed him. Somehow, I think he's still alive." Zuko paused, looking at Toph and Sokka. "I want to overthrow the Fire Lord, and my sister." He added, after some time, "And, I would do it alone, if I had some sort of team set up, otherwise I wouldn't care much about your whereabouts or any other such thing."

"He _is_ telling the truth." Toph confirmed. "Every word."

"I still don't trust you. And you are _not_ welcome to travel with us." Sokka grabbed Toph's shoulder and continued walking.

Zuko, perhaps knowing he would join them eventually, followed.

"Get lost!" Sokka said. "Just get out of here! We don't want your help."

"Just one question," Zuko called to them. "How do you plan to do this yourself with no knowledge of the Fire Nation whatsoever?"

"I don't—" Sokka began. Zuko cut him off.

"You're and idiot, you know that? You need me and I need the Avatar's power." He paused. "Can't you see that it's a fair split deal?"

Toph turned to Sokka. "He's right, you know."

Sokka blinked a few times, unsure of what to do. He did not want to believe this traitor, nor have anything to do with him. Yet he knew, in the grand scheme of things, that it was inevitable.

* * *

When Aang and Katara arrived at the North Pole, there was no grand party or parade. The population seemed to have gone down increasingly since they had last been here. They entered through the magnificent walls (still under construction) and placed Appa in the animal shelters. 

"First order of business," Katara said, "Is to find Chief Arnook."

They did so easily, and many faces recognized them, and asked them how their travels had treated them, and offered hospitality. But they found the somber chief eventually, still obviously broken up about his daughter and the attack on the Northern Water Tribe.

The problem was, he did not know that the Earth Kingdom had fallen, and when Katara and Aang brought him this news, he stopped breathing, and almost fainted.

"Impossible...impossible...are you really trying to tell me that...that...impossible..." He muttered this many times over and over to himself, and then his eyes watered, and he sobbed quietly to himself.

"Well, they've won the war! It was as simple as Ba Sing Sei. Curse them to the ground! Curse them to the ground, those Fire Nation...those bastards..."

"We have a plan," Katara assured him. "A good one, too. That's why Sokka is not with us."

They talked the plan over, simply and to the point, and though Katara and Aang could tell that the chief was suffering deeply inside, he agreed to let the young benders take charge of 100 soldiers, 40 of which where benders, and 60 of which were warriors, and all of which were completely submitted to the cause. They knew it was only a small fleet, but it would help.

"Enough about this war, tell me of your travels," Arnook said after some time, letting loose of his obvious manners and Tribe upbringing. "I want to hear all about it. I've never been to Ba Sing Sei...or any other Earth Kingdom town, for that matter."

"The travels weren't so bad," Aang admitted, and decided to leave out the invasion of Di Lei. "Katara got fairly sick on a few days back, but she's better now."

"Oh?" Arnook asked. "And, what was the sickness, Katara?"

Katara stared for a minute. And then, visibly considering her answer, blinked and said, "You know, I really don't know. I think it might have been some form of cold or something, but it seems much worse."

"Did it leave naturally?"

"No, actually...well, actually, I ate some penguin meat, and that seemed to heal everything right up. It was very strange, Chief Arnook." She paused, and then grimaced. "And I hope I never fall that sick again."

"Me neither," Aang agreed.

"Penguin meat, you say? Hmn..." The man thought for about a minute or two, nodding to himself as he did, and then turned to the travelers. "It's the Tor Sen Penguin Virus!" he exclaimed suddenly.

Katara and Aang looked at one another, confused.

"It's fatal," Arnook stated. "It destroys the immune system _and_ rids one of bending. Not to mention a lot of other nasty side affects that I can't remember right now. Many just call it the Tor Sen Virus, but penguin meat rids the body of the epidemic."

"You really think that's what it was?" Aang asked, still doubtful of the strange name.

"Sure, sure. Why, what else could it be? What were your symptoms, dearest?"

Katara thought for a moment. "I vomited, a lot...and I couldn't bend anymore, like you said. Plus I had a high fever, and I couldn't feel my limbs for a while."

"Exactly!" Arnook smiled to himself. "That's it exactly."

"Why does penguin meat cure this?" the Avatar inquired. "Isn't there some other medicine or something?"

"There are extracts that do the job," Arnook explained. "But penguins have extremely large, fluffed veins. They carry blood, you see, and so when you eat the meat you're eating the blood-induced muscles. They don't know what it _is_ about penguin blood, perhaps because it is loaded with oxygen and other nutrients, but it does it's work quite nicely, at least, more than any blood I've ever had!"

Aang, wincing at this point, turned to Katara. "You hear that? You could've died."

Katara nodded. "But, I didn't."

Arnook interrupted swiftly. "Now, now...I didn't meant to get so morbid." He sighed slightly, carefully, perhaps remembering his daughter. "The virus has been known to spread. Aang, I'd be careful, if I were you. And Katara, thank the spirits you are still here today."

The two nodded. "Well, we better get started then," Aang stated, gladly changing the subject. "We have a lot of work ahead of us."

The team agreed with him, and left the palace to the military grounds.


	6. Chapter 6

**Book Three: Fire**

**Author's Note**: We are VERY thankful for the wondrous reviews we've been receiving. We're glad you guys have picked up the pace, and kept in touch. Thanks, and if we aren't replying to your reviews, let us know, please!

-ScorpioRed112 and Sam

* * *

**Chapter 6: Putting One and One Together**

_How could I have been so stupid? _Zuko thought, pacing the palace floors. _How could I have expected them to help me? Is this plan going to work?_

He had his doubts—large doubts, too—but something inside was telling him that this plan the Water Tribe boy had created _was_ foolproof. He scoffed at himself, thinking fondly of those children. How could he?

They had tried so hard to get rid of him in the crowded city, tried so hard to destroy him. Now, he didn't blame them, but he had had a secret weapon.

_"__Just one question: how do you plan to do this yourself, with no knowledge of the Fire Nation whatsoever?"_

It was pure gold—how did they know of the Fire Nation? They didn't, and they needed him.

But he could not just take them into the palace. Not only would his sister find them and punish all three of them, but they would ruin his already faltering plans with Iroh. The problem was, every "sub-plan" ended in failure, and the Earth Kingdom generals were getting very hasty. He needed time to think, time to plan, and most importantly, time to figure what Azula was up to.

"Zuko, still sulking?" It was her voice, clear and sharp, from the end of the hallway. "You look...different today. Let me have a look at you."

Without his permission she grabbed his face and stared him straight in the eyes. He felt his pupils narrow. "What? What do you want?"

The girl was silent, menacing, and dropped her gaze to Zuko's feet. "Nothing. I'm just sick of your infantile attitude, is all."

Zuko's face wrinkled, his scowl once again gracing his face. "Listen, why would you care about my attitude when you're the one screwing around with our Uncle and your creepy friends? You have nothing to do with me."

"True," Azula added sarcastically. "The fact that my brother wakes up in the middle of the night and sneaks around Ba Sing Sei shouldn't concern me at all."

The prince froze, his skin tingling. "What?"

Azula began circling him. "Don't act so humble, Zuzu. Don't forget that _I'm _in this palace. I know what you're up to."

"No," Zuko replied, shaking his head. "No, you don't."

His sister snapped her neck backward, glaring at him. She stayed silent for a second, as if testing his comment. "I don't?"

"No, you don't."

"Well, Zuzu."

It was obvious that she didn't know what Zuko was up to, but she planned to get it out of him. She turned towards him again, her eyes locking on his. "Brother, you wouldn't want father to know that you're joining the rebels, would you?"

Zuko's face was as still as stone. "I am not joining the rebels."

"Liar."

He looked at his younger sister. "Liar," he repeated to her.

Her face lit up brilliantly, as if she had just tensed for a fight. "Name calling?"

"You said you know what I am up to, but it obvious that you don't. So, you are a liar." He pushed passed her, making his way for the hallway, when he heard her fist slam the wall behind him.

"Mark my words," she called after him, "that you'll regret whatever you're planning on doing!"

"Liar," Zuko said to himself.

* * *

The fleet was small.

It would never do, and Aang knew it. Sokka's plan _could _work, but Aang had been depending on a much, much bigger army. A fleet of only one hundred men sounded like child's play compared to the every blooming Fire Nation.

"You're worried," Katara kept telling him. "You're worried, and it's showing. Every thing's going to be fine, alright? Just don't worry so much."

"I am not worrying," Aang would reply. "I just...have a feeling that some thing's missing."

"I feel it too."

"What is it, then?"

But there was no answer to that. The pair felt hallow, and every time they looked at the fleet they felt sick and remorseful.

_They're all going to die, _Katara envisioned, looking at them. _They're going to fall to the Fire Nation..and so will Aang. _

Their last night at the North Pole was a memorable one. Chief Arnook came to the travelers' tent, smiling broadly, with a withered scroll in his hands.

His words were simple, sweet, and to the point. "I have a plan."

"What is it?" Aang asked him as he eyed the scroll. "We agreed we were using Sokka's plan."

Arnook shook his head. "Not that."

The scroll opened, and Aang and Katara saw that it wasn't really a scroll at all, but a cloth with pockets in it. Within the pockets were small vials of a reddish, purple fluid.

Katara looked at the old man. "What's this?"

"Penguin blood," Arnook replied. "And lots of it."

Aang winced. "What for?"

"Tell me this, dears," the man stated. He cleared his throat. "Have you ever seen any penguins hopping around the Fire Nation?"

"No," the two answered.

"Have you ever seen any penguin blood vials in the Fire Nation?"

"No," they answered again.

"Well then, they are all about to come down with a nasty virus, one that they cannot cure. A virus that will not only rid them of bending, but also make them as sick as the dogs they are!"

Arnook stood up and handed the cloth to Aang. "Take this with you, an infected cloth. Put it in a bag, and wrap it tight. Then, when in the Fire Nation, put it in vents and other such places. The whole Fire Nation will fall within months!"

"You aren't...honestly planning on killing innocent civilians, are you?" Katara's tone was serious. "Chief Arnook, we can't do that. There are children and women and innocent bystanders in this war." She was silent for just a moment, her face lifting to meet Arnook's stare. "I don't want to kill innocent people."

Aang shook his head. "Neither do I. It's a good plan, but it isn't realistic. We're only worried about Firebenders, and Ozai."

Arnook sighed heavily, his gaze drifting to the top of the tent. He bit his lip. "Well...it seems I have forgotten what civilization has taught me." He shook his head, just as quickly as Aang had done, and ran his hand throw his thinning hair. "No...you cannot kill innocent people, you're right." The man's eyes lit up. "But...you can kill Firebenders, and Ozai. Very well...I guess the only acceptable place to put these infected clothes would be in the palace."

"Then we'll need something living to carry the virus there," Katara added, glad that the Chief had changed his terms. "Viruses can't live without a host."

"You're right," Arnook stated, accepting Katara's obvious genius in the field of health. "I've kept the virus in its purest form in one of those vials. I believe it's labeled. If the cloths don't hold out, use the vial."

Aang and Katara bowed, and Arnook did the same.

"This is really a genius plan, Chief Arnook," Aang commented before he left the tent. "I'm sure it's going to help us."

"Thank you," Katara added. The Chief nodded, and waved them off.

Katara and Aang smiled at their inventory: one hundred Water Tribe soldiers, 5 vials of penguin blood to cure the Tor Sen virus hath it reach them, 1 vial to spread virus once near the Fire Nation, 2 infected cloths, four Water Tribe war ships, one flying bison swimming along side of them, and (of course) each other.

* * *

"So should we trust him?" That was the biggest thing on Sokka's mind at the moment. Every time he thought of the "plan" his mind drifted to Katara and Aang's reaction to Zuko and Iroh. The whole thing was making his guts squirm in discomfort. With lack of a rational mind himself, he turned his attention to his blind companion.

"Well, I already told you he wasn't lying before," Toph answered simply. "He was telling the truth."

"That's not what I meant."

"Okay, then what did you mean?"

"...I don't know," Sokka sighed and leaned back against the wall. He crossed his arms loosely, thinking. "I've spent the last year running away from this guy with Katara and Aang, and now suddenly he's trying to join us? It doesn't fly."

"So you think he has an alternative motive?" Toph looked in Sokka's general direction.

"I don't know...maybe."

"He was right though, Sokka."

"About what?"

"We don't know a damn thing about the Fire Nation," Toph sounded serious now. Her tone dropped. "You can take what all four of us know about the Fire Nation, and fit it on a teaspoon—with room to spare. And now we have a Firebender—no wait, two Firebenders, if you count his uncle—who are willing to help us. And—oh!—bonus: one of them could teach Aang Firebending along the way. I'd say it's a pretty clear cut choice"

Sokka hated it when Toph made this much sense. He tried again. "The guy still tried to kill us. Am I supposed to just forgive that?"

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Toph quoted logically.

"Huh?"

"It's a saying," the girl shrugged. "Basically it means do whatever it takes to win. Even if it means joining someone you don't like. After that go right ahead and continue hating him, but if you have a common enemy, it makes you allies."

"How the hell do you know all this stuff?"

"I hear things," she narrowed her eyes, smirking. "Don't change the subject"

"Toph," he looked back at her. "You don't understand. He's a Firebender. Firebenders are our enemies. Maybe right now he's telling the truth, but what happens if we decide to help him, and he ends up on the throne? Then what? What if this war just keeps going? What if it's worse with him? What if joining him means condemning the world to absolute doom? Then we can be the ones that say 'yeah, we helped that maniac come into power'. Do you _want _to be able to say that?"

Toph just faced him. She paused, not for a thinking moment but perhaps to make her point. Finally she stated, "The Avatar"

"What?"

"Aang!" She exclaimed in an inpatient manner. "That's what he's for isn't it? Keeping the nations under check? We put your pal Zuzu in power, Aang can be his guard and make sure he doesn't get completely out of control."

"Given that Aang lives through this fight," Sokka said grimly. Immediately he regretted it, for he hadn't meant to say it. The words had simply slipped out, as if Aang's death was a well known and unavoidable fact.

"He will."

"We hope he will."

"_He will._" The total sureness in the way she said that made it hard for Sokka to argue. "And if he doesn't, fine, then _we'll _take over for him."

"Can we do that?"

"Do you have a better option?"

"Toph," Sokka said. "I think we're out of options."

The matter was settled, and definite. A bystander could easily tell that Toph was confident of the team's conditions. Sokka, though a bit frightened by it all, was thankful for her sureness. He sighed heavily, and decided to believe her.

"So when do you think we'll see Zuko again?" Toph asked now, glad to move on. "We have to start getting things ready...putting stuff in order."

"We'll see him soon," Sokka clarified. "We'll be seeing Katara and Aang soon too."

Without another word the two dissappeared into a nearby ally, and made their way to the small motel where they were staying.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

**Book Three: Fire**

**Author's Note:** Alright everybody, I know I've been late, but it took the push from Sam to keep on writing. So thanks, Sam, for your review. I had completely forgotten about this fic since then. Anyway, I hope all of you readers out there enjoy this chapter, and _REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!_ Avatar Season Three comes out in a couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean this fic has to end!

I know I'm evil. The cliff hanger at the end of this chapter should be enough to spark at least SOME response from you couch potatoes. Review, please. Suggestions welcome.

-ScorpioRed112

* * *

**Chapter 7: All is Fair in Love and War**

The morning had started out in an awful manner for Sokka. Even the weather, which seemed to be shaking the small shack he and Toph were staying in, appeared to be in a foul mood. Sunlight was barely (if at all) detectable. Simply put, it was a bad day, and it was no secret to Sokka.

Even so, the weather and mood were the least of his worries. Zuko was to come to their shack today and finalize their plans. The Water Tribe boy grew antsy thinking of such a person. He could never come to terms with Zuko. Never in a billion, trillion years. But it was like Toph had said, and her words rang clear and definite in his mind.

_Do we have a better option?_

No, they did not have a better option. They needed a teacher and a navigator, plus all of the five Earth Kingdom generals were joining them. It was a sweet deal, in retrospect, but nonetheless terrifying.

"Awake already?" a voice asked him. The boy jumped and settled, turning briskly to the young girl in the doorway.

"Toph!" he cried angrily. "Don't...don't do that!"

"Do what?"

"You know...sneak around. I have enough on my mind already!"

"Oh...poor, poor Sokka. Didn't you hear me come in?" His companion plopped herself on the old couch and faced the window. "I thought I was loud enough."

"It's raining," Sokka stated simply, as if the pattering and puttering of the rain could drown out any other noise in the world. "Are you ready to...you know...see Zuko?"

"I'm not ready to _see_ anyone. I'm ready to listen to what he's got to say, though. I can't wait to get out of this disgusting motel. How much are we paying, anyway?"

"That lady from the borders gave us about 700 gold pieces. Right here we're paying about one silver piece a night," the boy answered shortly.

"Well, it's probably worth a quarter of that—if anything."

"Toph, would you focus? He's—"

Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door, a kind of angry and urgent knock, as if something great was at stake on the other side.

"He's back!" Toph stated enthusiastically, and ran to the door.

It was obvious that the Fire Nation Prince had been out in the rain for probably a half an hour. His hair stuck to this face like glue, and the short ponytail that he had began to tie up lingered at the base of his neck. Even his royal clothes and armor, which should have withheld a little bit of rain, were soaked. He came in promptly.

"Why are you so wet?" Sokka asked, in a very grave and uninterested tone. "It's not raining _that _bad. You're going to get the floors all soggy."

"And they're soggy enough," Toph added.

"Never mind that!" the Prince shouted. "I'm here, that's all that matters. We're executing the plan tonight, right? And going up to that bay to see the militia that the Avatar has brought?"

There it was. It had been almost three weeks since Sokka had last seen his sister and Aang. The boy was silent.

"Yeah..." he said after some time. "Yeah...that's it."

"Well? What do you mean 'that's it'? What am I going to do? How am I supposed to get there? My sister has the palace all blocked out! I can't just sneak out anymore. She's got her weird friends watching me almost every night. It's a wonder I could even come out right now!" Zuko began pacing rapidly, his brow glittering with perspiration. This was the first time he had vented these hatreds out to anyone other than his uncle.

"How about you chill, first?" Toph suggested. "You got out today, you can get out tonight."

"It's not that simple," he snapped angrily. "I can't just leave."

Something seemed to erupt in the room as soon as Zuko finished his last sentence. Sokka stood up and grabbed the Prince's arm tightly, swinging the unexpected boy to his face as barbarically as possible. He had had enough of Zuko's complaining and unfaithfulness. The words came out like acid.

"Listen, if you're having doubts about this now, you can just go to hell. I'm not here to babysit you. You have to be sincere, you got that?" Sokka's icy stare met Zuko's fiery one, and the Water Tribe boy wrinkled his brow. "If you're out of this now, you say so now."

The shack was silent. Toph's mouth hung open.

Zuko grabbed his capturer's arm with his free hand and pushed it down. "I'm not out of this yet," he confirmed, using a tone just as sinister as Sokka's. "And I'm not full of it either. I'm just saying that...that if I'm a little late, I have reason to be."

* * *

Unlike Sokka's dreary morning many miles away, Aang was experiencing quite the opposite. The sun shimmered high overhead and cast light on everything in view. Even the murky ocean, which had been harsh on the fleet in their travels, glowed with the light of a thousand diamonds. Air passed through freely throughout the ship, and filled Aang with hope. 

Whenever he felt this way he could not help thinking of Katara. He knew it was unhealthy, but it was also unstoppable. The emotion bubbled to his mind just as the ocean lapped on their ship. He couldn't help it.

The boy came back from the deck of the ship to the lower sleeping chambers and peeked into the circular window of the room he and Katara were sharing. She hadn't been very fond of the arrangement. Aang snored loudly and boastfully every night, and Katara couldn't really wear what she wanted to wear when the days and the nights were unbearably hot and humid. She envied Aang for the simple pleasure of being able to take his shirt off whenever he wanted to. Likewise, Aang would get up early and Katara usually slept until noon, and Aang envied this lethargic ability. As roommates, they found they were very different people.

But that didn't mean that they didn't enjoy each other. Many nights they stayed up and talked—in very low tones of course—about Sokka's genius plan, and the final showdown with the Fire Lord. This lifeline gave Aang courage. The fear of facing the Fire Lord dwindled almost to nothing, and the fact that the Avatar State was temporarily lost to Aang was no big deal anymore. He grew confident as Katara assured him things would turn out alright. He believed her.

The weather and constant sunlight also took their toll on Aang. His hair had grown to a thick, almost uncombable dark mass. And his pale skin, which in time had grown rough from the salty and harsh winds, was now almost as dark as Katara's. Nothing could prevent his arrow from showing through, however, and his bangs were not yet long enough. Katara promised him a complete makeover when he needed one later on.

Now, though, Aang could not find his friend in their sleeping quarters. He turned away from the room's window, only to come nose to nose to the same person he was looking for.

"Oh!" he exclaimed wildly. "Katara! I didn't know you were up." The boy moved back shyly, still smiling, and rubbed the base of his neck.

"That doesn't give you right to spy, Aang," Katara retorted, making a face. "We land today. You know that I couldn't sleep in and miss this."

_She has a point,_ Aang thought. This was the first time in almost three years that Katara would see her father. Aang could tell she had gotten dressed her best, and added a barely traceable amount of effort into her hair and face. Had Aang known what her mother looked like, he would guess they looked the same. For the first time in a very long time, Katara looked...happy.

Aang couldn't help eying his fellow traveler with a twist of emotions. He wondered if his life would be any different if he had known and lived with his father and mother. But he could not say that he loved his parents, whoever they were. They were long gone...their bones dwindled by the passing of time, and their spirits unconceivable.

Suddenly, a dream the boy had just the previous night rattled his memory. In the nightmare, he had seen nothing but explosions and floating bodies and weapons. Aang squinted, and shook his head.

"I know, you're right," the boy stated, deciding that it would be best not to ruin Katara's good day with his silly nuisances. "I was just...checking to...make sure you weren't going to sleep in again."

Katara laughed and slapped Aang on the shoulder. "Whatever you say. Are you ready for the makeup? We can't afford getting too close to the bay and having people recognize you. The Fire Nation could have already infiltrated it. In case we do come close, I don't want you to look like the Avatar."

Aang looked briefly at the darkened skin tone of his arm and ran his other hand through his hair. "I don't think I look like the Avatar now anyway. More like the love child of a light Water Tribe person and something from the Fire Nation." He paused. "Just a cheap imitation."

Katara frowned at his depressing tone. "I know you don't want to do it, but we have to at least try. I could probably make you darker...and comb your hair back into a ponytail...you know, just enough to give you the slightest hint of Fire Nation royalty. The ships are obviously foreign...but you'll look like an invader."

There was no hope in arguing. Within minutes Katara had already fashioned Aang's hair and face, and given him some red pants and dark Water Tribe fishing boots that looked very similar to Sokka's. There were no red shirts or armors on the ship. Aang had to go shirtless for the best impression, which required the use of more makeup to cover the farmer's tan on his chest.

"You look foreign to me!" the girl assured when the deeds were done. "Even _I _wouldn't know you from far away." Without warning she pulled him into a tight hug, and ruffled some of the hair puffing out of his ponytail.

The boy looked in the mirror, but the reflection was not recognizable. He was silent.

"What do you think?"

Aang turned his head up and down, and made faces at the reflection. "You're right," he finally said. "Even _I _wouldn't know myself from far away."

The bay came into view, and a heavy silence shook the frames and crews of the small fleet.

* * *

She didn't know what had happened. 

The last thing she remembered seeing was a fire. Heavy and dark with smoke, rising and spiraling from a ship similar to one she was riding on. She remebered angry voices, and hateful words erupting from herself.

Screams echoed, and the vessel began shaking back and forth. She couldn't see anything. Total darkness engulfed her in the form of water. And suddenly, just as quickly as she had lost sensation, she lost her bending too.

A voice, far away but definite, kept repeating over and over, "Katara, Katara, Katara, Katara, Katara."

"Katara, wake up."

Something cold and hard hit her on the face, on the arms. Someone is on top of her face, screaming, and beating her.

The background was silent now. The confusion gone. She remembered there was something important about this day, but the total memory has left her...perhaps permanently. She frowned.

"She's moving. Katara, Katara, Katara, Katara."

Her thoughts jumbled and turned and ran into each other. Who was so close to her? The sensation from her waist down was gone. What were they doing? Her heartbeat throbbed loudly.

Fear finally broke through this dark and confused state, and exploded in her chest. She didn't want to get hurt or die, and the simple thought of his was enough to reach her internally.

"Katara, please wake up."

"Katara, Katara, Katara."

"Katara?"

There are letters and words that do not reach her. The darkness has faded almost completely. She blinked four times, tried to move her feet and realized she could not, and opened her eyes.

Just as she had seen Aang so close to her face this morning, she saw him again now, only with an expression of worry, pain, and hopelessness on his face, and tears in his eyes.

* * *


End file.
